Shloka 3
Arjuna’s Self-Identification and the Ten Names
Uttara–Arjuna Saṃvāda
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन्! नपुंसकवेषमें रथपर बैठे हुए नरश्रेष्ठ अर्जुनको, जो उत्तरको रथपर बिठाकर शमीवृक्षकी ओर जा रहे थे, भीष्म-द्रोण आदि कौरव महारथियोंने देखा। यह देखकर अर्जुनकी आशंका होनेसे वे सबके सब मन-ही-मन भयभीत हो उठे ।। तानवेक्ष्य हतोत्साहानुत्पातानपि चाद्भुतान् । गुरु: शस्त्रभृतां श्रेष्ठो भारद्वाजो5भ्यभाषत,उन सब महारथियोंको हतोत्साह देख तथा अद्भुत उत्पातोंको भी देखकर शस्त्रधारियोंमें श्रेष्ठ भरद्वाजनन्दन आचार्य द्रोण बोले--
vaiśampāyana uvāca | rājann napuṁsakaveṣeṇa rathopaviṣṭaṁ naraśreṣṭham arjunaṁ yo uttarāṁ rathopaviśya śamīvṛkṣaṁ prati yāntam āsīt, taṁ bhīṣma-droṇādayaḥ kauravā mahārathinaḥ dadṛśuḥ | taṁ dṛṣṭvā arjunasya śaṅkābhayāt te sarve manasā bhītā babhūvuḥ || tān avekṣya hatoṭsāhān utpātān api cādbhūtān | guruḥ śastrabhṛtāṁ śreṣṭho bhāradvājo ’bhyabhāṣata ||
तानवेक्ष्य हतोत्साहानुत्पातानपि चाद्भुतान् । गुरुश्शस्त्रभृतां श्रेष्ठो भारद्वाजोऽभ्यभाषत ॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the mightiest can be shaken when truth begins to surface: fear arises from uncertainty and conscience, while wise leadership (here, Droṇa as guru) responds by reading both human morale and the signs of circumstance. The passage highlights how inner states—suspicion, courage, and doubt—shape ethical and strategic decisions in dharmic conflict.
Arjuna, still incognito in a eunuch’s guise, rides with Prince Uttara toward the śamī tree to retrieve the Pāṇḍavas’ hidden weapons. The Kaurava champions—Bhīṣma, Droṇa, and others—spot him and, suspecting it is Arjuna, become inwardly fearful and dispirited. Seeing their lowered morale and strange portents, Droṇa begins to address them.